2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2929.20. Judicial release.

(A) As used in this section, "eligible offender" means any person serving a stated prison term of ten years or less when either of the following applies:

(1) The stated prison term does not include a mandatory prison term.

(2) The stated prison term includes a mandatory prison term, and the person has served the mandatory prison term.

(B) Upon the filing of a motion by the eligible offender or upon its own motion, a sentencing court may reduce the offender's stated prison term through a judicial release in accordance with this section. The court shall not reduce the stated prison term of an offender who is not an eligible offender. An eligible offender may file a motion for judicial release with the sentencing court within the following applicable period of time:

(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(1)(b) or (c) of this section, if the stated prison term was imposed for a felony of the fourth or fifth degree, the eligible offender may file the motion not earlier than thirty days or later than ninety days after the offender is delivered to a state correctional institution.

(b) If the stated prison term is five years and is an aggregate of stated prison terms that are being served consecutively and that were imposed for any combination of felonies of the fourth degree and felonies of the fifth degree, the eligible offender may file the motion after the eligible offender has served four years of the stated prison term.

(c) If the stated prison term is more than five years and not more than ten years and is an aggregate of stated prison terms that are being served consecutively and that were imposed for any combination of felonies of the fourth degree and felonies of the fifth degree, the eligible offender may file the motion after the eligible offender has served five years of the stated prison term.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(3) or (4) of this section, if the stated prison term was imposed for a felony of the first, second, or third degree, the eligible offender may file the motion not earlier than one hundred eighty days after the offender is delivered to a state correctional institution.

(3) If the stated prison term is five years, the eligible offender may file the motion after the eligible offender has served four years of the stated prison term.

(4) If the stated prison term is more than five years and not more than ten years, the eligible offender may file the motion after the eligible offender has served five years of the stated prison term.

(5) If the offender's stated prison term includes a mandatory prison term, the offender shall file the motion within the time authorized under division (B)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section for the nonmandatory portion of the prison term, but the time for filing the motion does not begin to run until after the expiration of the mandatory portion of the prison term.

(C) Upon receipt of a timely motion for judicial release filed by an eligible offender under division (B) of this section or upon the sentencing court's own motion made within the appropriate time period specified in that division, the court may schedule a hearing on the motion. The court may deny the motion without a hearing but shall not grant the motion without a hearing. If a court denies a motion without a hearing, the court may consider a subsequent judicial release for that eligible offender on its own motion or a subsequent motion filed by that eligible offender. If a court denies a motion after a hearing, the court shall not consider a subsequent motion for that eligible offender. The court shall hold only one hearing for any eligible offender.

A hearing under this section shall be conducted in open court within sixty days after the date on which the motion is filed, provided that the court may delay the hearing for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty additional days. If the court holds a hearing on the motion, the court shall enter a ruling on the motion within ten days after the hearing. If the court denies the motion without a hearing, the court shall enter its ruling on the motion within sixty days after the motion is filed.

(D) If a court schedules a hearing under division (C) of this section, the court shall notify the eligible offender of the hearing and shall notify the head of the state correctional institution in which the eligible offender is confined of the hearing prior to the hearing. The head of the state correctional institution immediately shall notify the appropriate person at the department of rehabilitation and correction of the hearing, and the department within twenty-four hours after receipt of the notice, shall post on the database it maintains pursuant to
section 5120.66 of the Revised Code the offender's name and all of the information specified in division (A)(1)(c)(i) of that section. If the court schedules a hearing for judicial release, the court promptly shall give notice of the hearing to the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the eligible offender was indicted. Upon receipt of the notice from the court, the prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim of the offense for which the stated prison term was imposed or the victim's representative, pursuant to
section 2930.16 of the Revised Code, of the hearing.

(E) Prior to the date of the hearing on a motion for judicial release under this section, the head of the state correctional institution in which the eligible offender in question is confined shall send to the court a report on the eligible offender's conduct in the institution and in any institution from which the eligible offender may have been transferred. The report shall cover the eligible offender's participation in school, vocational training, work, treatment, and other rehabilitative activities and any disciplinary action taken against the eligible offender. The report shall be made part of the record of the hearing.

(F) If the court grants a hearing on a motion for judicial release under this section, the eligible offender shall attend the hearing if ordered to do so by the court. Upon receipt of a copy of the journal entry containing the order, the head of the state correctional institution in which the eligible offender is incarcerated shall deliver the eligible offender to the sheriff of the county in which the hearing is to be held. The sheriff shall convey the eligible offender to the hearing and return the offender to the institution after the hearing.

(G) At the hearing on a motion for judicial release under this section, the court shall afford the eligible offender and the eligible offender's attorney an opportunity to present written information relevant to the motion and shall afford the eligible offender, if present, and the eligible offender's attorney an opportunity to present oral information relevant to the motion. The court shall afford a similar opportunity to the prosecuting attorney, the victim or the victim's representative, as defined in
section 2930.01 of the Revised Code, and any other person the court determines is likely to present additional relevant information. The court shall consider any statement of a victim made pursuant to
section 2930.14 or
2930.17 of the Revised Code, any victim impact statement prepared pursuant to
section 2947.051 [2947.05.1] of the Revised Code, and any report made under division (E) of this section. The court may consider any written statement of any person submitted to the court pursuant to division (J) of this section. After ruling on the motion, the court shall notify the victim of the ruling in accordance with
sections 2930.03 and
2930.16 of the Revised Code.

(H) (1) A court shall not grant a judicial release under this section to an eligible offender who is imprisoned for a felony of the first or second degree, or to an eligible offender who committed an offense contained in
Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the Revised Code and for whom there was a presumption under
section 2929.13 of the Revised Code in favor of a prison term, unless the court, with reference to factors under
section 2929.12 of the Revised Code, finds both of the following:

(a) That a sanction other than a prison term would adequately punish the offender and protect the public from future criminal violations by the eligible offender because the applicable factors indicating a lesser likelihood of recidivism outweigh the applicable factors indicating a greater likelihood of recidivism;

(b) That a sanction other than a prison term would not demean the seriousness of the offense because factors indicating that the eligible offender's conduct in committing the offense was less serious than conduct normally constituting the offense outweigh factors indicating that the eligible offender's conduct was more serious than conduct normally constituting the offense.

(2) A court that grants a judicial release to an eligible offender under division (H)(1) of this section shall specify on the record both findings required in that division and also shall list all the factors described in that division that were presented at the hearing.

(I) If the court grants a motion for judicial release under this section, the court shall order the release of the eligible offender, shall place the eligible offender under an appropriate community control sanction, under appropriate community control conditions, and under the supervision of the department of probation serving the court, and shall reserve the right to reimpose the sentence that it reduced pursuant to the judicial release if the offender violates the sanction. If the court reimposes the reduced sentence pursuant to this reserved right, it may do so either concurrently with, or consecutive to, any new sentence imposed upon the eligible offender as a result of the violation that is a new offense. The period of the community control sanction shall be no longer than five years. The court, in its discretion, may reduce the period of the community control sanction by the amount of time the eligible offender spent in jail for the offense and in prison. If the court made any findings pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section, the court shall serve a copy of the findings upon counsel for the parties within fifteen days after the date on which the court grants the motion for judicial release.

Prior to being released pursuant to a judicial release granted under this section, the eligible offender shall serve any extension of sentence that was imposed under
section 2967.11 of the Revised Code.

If the court grants a motion for judicial release, the court shall notify the appropriate person at the department of rehabilitation and correction of the judicial release, and the department shall post notice of the release on the database it maintains pursuant to
section 5120.66 of the Revised Code.

(J) In addition to and independent of the right of a victim to make a statement pursuant to
section 2930.14,2930.17, or 2946.051 [2946.05.1] of the Revised Code and any right of a person to present written information or make a statement pursuant to division (G) of this section, any person may submit to the court, at any time prior to the hearing on the offender's motion for judicial release, a written statement concerning the effects of the offender's crime or crimes, the circumstances surrounding the crime or crimes, the manner in which the crime or crimes were perpetrated, and the person's opinion as to whether the offender should be released.

151 v H 15, effective November 23, 2005, rewrote (D); in (G), inserted the next to last sentence; and added the last paragraph of (I) and (J).

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